The question has been brought up by elected officials in Russellville: Is a proposed mitigation fee of $125,000 to the city from Walmart an offer to offset Russellville’s costs when a new store is built, or simply a bribe to influence a positive vote in the effort to change the zoning that would allow a new Neighborhood Market to be built in the western part of the city?

Alderman Martin Irwin said last week he was concerned that the appearance of the monetary offer by the company felt like a bribe. Walmart responded to the criticism with a statement from a company spokesman.

“We are disappointed that some members of the city council have chosen to mischaracterize our coordinated efforts with them to mitigate traffic concerns at the proposed Neighborhood Market site,” Daniel Morales, Walmart director of communications, said.

“Walmart was asked to provide solutions and options under the PUD (planned unit development), which would allow us to work with the community to ensure that the impact of our store is minimized on infrastructure while still providing low price shopping solutions and convenience for our customers.”

The issue of a mitigation fee has been constantly on the surface of the Walmart PUD in Russellville.

The city’s ordinance code for property development does not specifically address the term “mitigation fee,” but Mayor Bill Eaton believes it may in the future. Eaton said the term “impact fee” may be more appropriate when referencing this type of regulation.

“Officially, we don’t have the document in hand that would collect impact fees,” Eaton told The Courier on Tuesday.

But he said such a plan may be in the process, once the Walmart zoning issue is settled. The context of a new fee could be a consideration for permanent ordinance regulations. In addition, it must take into account existing documents such as the city’s Master Plan.

All of the city’s ordinance contents need some updating, he said.

“When considering updates, we may include impact fees as part of the ordinances,” Eaton said. “They use them all over the U.S.”

When asked about the bribe label given to the mitigation fee offered by Walmart, Eaton said “for someone to look at it in that manner is off base.”

A bribe is something that is underhanded, he said.

It is something possibly discovered later. Walmart, although with very short notice, did mention the fee in the open and upfront to the City Council’s Budget Committee.

“If it was a bribe, it would have come under public scrutiny,” Eaton said,

“Action could have been taken because it was presented in such a manner. It was primarily the period of time. The council wanted to look at it in greater detail before taking action.”

There should be enough time allowed to review the fee offer, he said, adding this is why the ordinance is required to be read during three separate sessions, so aldermen have an opportunity for input and dialog, and time for considering context.

A PUD has its place and is a valid option for development, Eaton said.

“It was never intended to be more than it really was ... an impact fee. It has been discussed in the past, There are pros and cons to having an impact fee and some have merit,” he said.

Bryan Patrick, planning director for the city of Conway, said Monday that his city has such fees built into the city’s ordinances.

“We have an impact fee, and it applies to all new businesses that plan to build. It’s referred to as a road impact fee. And it is paid to the city upon final inspection of the project. It is outside of the PUD process in Conway,” he said.

“It helps lock a certain project down to specific requirements such as lighting, hours of operation, buffering, truck delivery times and garbage pick-up.” he explained. “Kroger went through a remodel recently and we had to use a PUD to accommodate changes.”

“I have never done a mitigation fee” he said, and added he had not heard the term used for that sort of regulation.

“Impact fees are discussed on the front end of the proposal. And before project finalization, we do a project development review. If changes or improvements are needed, and if they are directly related to the development, there’s no problem accessing the fee.”

The money from such fees go directly to parks and roads, he said. The fee amount is based on square footage.

Jim von Tungeln, planning consultant for the Arkansas Municipal League, said that PUD zoning classification was derived about 45 years ago. It incorporates a zoning class, plus a site plan.

This is not news for the attentive and concerned residents of Russellville, he said.

“Impact fees are enacted by cities to handle the burden a project might bring to the infrastructure-roads, traffic, drainage, etc. Searcy used impact fees as part the negotiation process for zoning very recently,” von Tungeln said. “They chose this way so they could negotiate.”

Relieved to see an articulate & positive rebuttal to the pot stirring "concerns" & comments concerning Walmart's proposed impact fee & PUD submission. I think we all need to get real about this situation. Does anyone really like Walmart? Not really. I think we can all agree that we love to hate the entity of Walmart. But, has anyone studied the site plan? It's looks kind of nice. Has anyone been to a Neighborhood Market? They are pretty nice. Anyone noticed the areas they are built in? Pretty nice areas. Anybody have any better ideas about what the property owner could do with the property? Would you prefer a nice R-2 zoning? The property owner has been approached by a builder that would like to put in apartment buildings, duplexes or tiny single family homes on small lots.....would the neighborhood prefer hundreds of renters right in front of their neighborhood? How would that increase traffic on S. Vancouver? What would happen to your property values in that situation? Did you really think when that road was put in right smack dab in the middle of that property that something wasn't going to happen one day? After all, that neighborhood lobbied the city council for YEARS to get their way with that road....a road for their convenience. Walmart has studied this area extensively, including traffic flow, demographics, & where your dollars are spent. You may not think that another grocery store is needed, but, whose call is that? Should the city council say no to more choices in grocery shopping? Should they say no to job growth? Upwards of 90 jobs? Should they say no to increasing their tax base? Or, should they say no because you just don't like Walmart? Or because you want your kids to ride their bikes in the street? Or because you think your home value will decrease? Lots of planning goes into site location & its always pointed towards growth. This area of town WILL grow. It can be positive or negative. Change WILL happen & this Walmart deal is good for the City as a whole. Yes, some will be unhappy, but, isn't that the way it goes? The naysayers are always the absolute loudest. But, how long would the negativity really last? Not too long, it never does. The council should consider that this isn't about making people mad at them personally, its about a vote for a positive step forward in growing business in this part of town. If you turn this deal away, you will be saying no to so much more! This potential development could really set the bar for retail establishments, present & future, & what they can bring to the table to make Russellville more attractive & suit consumers needs more effectively. I understand this is an extremely emotional issue for lots of people but this isn't about personal issues...its about making a decision for the whole city. Some members of the council have been acting most unjust during this process by deliberately attempting to put a negative spin on this potential development. They have used the word "bribe" when referencing the impact fee. They've used the word "legal" numerous times when discussing the PUD zoning. Its past the point of ignorance & gone into complete sabotage overdrive. The PUD has parts that are concrete & parts that are flexible. Do you really think Walmart would work for more than 2 years on this project to screw it up during the zoning process? I believe they are looking at what zoning is best for the city as a whole. It's actually a very thoughtful zoning for that area. I think that some thought, reason & compromise would go a long way in this process.